


Magic Wand

by Aozora (SublimeBlueSky)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Gen, Nuzlocke Challenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 01:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11071599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SublimeBlueSky/pseuds/Aozora
Summary: It's said that girls with pink hair often have peculiar fate or stories. Some may be destined to save the world, some may be destined to have curious encounters. Some may have both of it. Said peculiarity also happens to a certain pink haired girl named Elysia. She will embark on a journey through many regions in order to find answers, to have wonderful encounters, and most likely to save the world while she's at it.Based on Nuzlocke gameplays through 7 regions under the colorlocke rule, using only pink and gray colored Pokemon through the whole adventure. Current arc begins in Kanto from a Pokemon LeafGreen gameplay.





	1. Prologue

### Log 1 : Jill and Elysia

"So you're really leaving, huh?"  
"Huh?"

Elysia stared back at the girl lying on her bed as she's packing her own stuff into cardboard boxes. She is Jill, the girl who has always been living in the room next to hers in the dorm of Rosemary Boarding School for Girls, and one who also happened to be her best friend.

"Oh. Yeah," the pink haired girl nodded as she carefully placed some text books into the box. "I've decided," she looked back at the brown haired girl with determination.  
The other girl merely smiled as she turned her body and rested her chin on her hands. "You know, everyone's going to miss you, Elysia."

"Really?" short giggle came out from her mouth as she stood up and closed the cardboard box full of books and putting it aside. Her hands then took another box she had prepared for her other belongings. Jill's blue eyes merely followed the pink haired girl's movement, dashing here and there like a hungry Dedenne.

"I still think it's weird, you know. We're all orphans here. Nobody should get any letter from their parents," Jill watched as Elysia began to collect her miscellaneous stuff, still scattered on her desk. She could see some mini sculptures they once made in crafting class. Elysia made some Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff, though they’re hardly distinguishable.

"Yeah, last time I remember, my parents passed away when I was six, but they were gone while overseas, so maybe someone lied to me all these years," Elysia replied as she began arranging her sculptures and put them inside smaller boxes before putting it into the large cardboard box.

"Or the letter itself is a lie."  
"That could be... but I checked, and the handwriting is like my mom's handwriting."  
"It's easy to replicate someone's handwriting. Nina always does it."  
"You're right."  
"And you're still leaving," Jill sighed, "and you're not done packing your stuff for your journey."

When Elysia asked Jill to come to her room earlier, Jill expected Elysia had finished packing her stuff and had prepared the things she needed for her journey. Then Jill just had to help her friend moving her stuff into an empty corner inside her own room. Contrary to her expectation, what she saw now was Elysia who’s having some of her stuff scattered around her room and her bag unpacked. The brown haired girl really wanted to help, but Elysia said she’ll be fine by herself.

In the end, Jill got up from Elysia’s bed and turned to her friend’s wardrobe. The tall girl’s slender fingers opened wooden door of the wardrobe, creaking from age and lack of oil. She found it to be mostly empty. Apparently Elysia had moved her clothes into the boxes or into her travelling bag. Jill then opened some drawers on the corner of the wardrobe just to be sure. As expected, Elysia seemed to have forgotten these drawers exists. To be fair, her drawers are mostly empty, except for one thing...

"Hey, Elysia. You forgot one thing here," Jill called for her friend as she took out a small long box made of dark colored wood from the drawer. It felt slightly heavy.   
"Huh?" Elysia turned her head towards Jill. "Oh, that’s...!" Her grey eyes widened before she rushed to her friend’s location.

Jill quickly handed the wooden box to Elysia after examining it a little. "What’s in it?" She asked curiously.

The smaller girl sighed with relief. "I’ve been looking for this. I thought I’ve lost it for good," she continued as she opened the wooden box carefully. Inside of it, Jill could see a... wand. 

It was a very well made grey metallic wand with a pink egg-like orb on the top. The pink egg was adorned with stones and pearls. From a glance you could tell the stones and pearls were from the cheap variety, but because of how well placed and well polished they are, it makes the wand to be very pretty and looked like a real magical wand, unlike the cheap plastic replica they sell on toy shops.

"My dad made it for me…” Elysia took out the wand and looked at it fondly. “Do you remember there was a children's show about a girl with magical power? I really liked that show and my dad made this wand for me from his scrapped materials..."

"Oh, your dad was a jewelry maker, wasn’t he..." Jill nodded as she examined the wand. "It’s wonderful. Not my kind of thing, but… I can tell that it’s made with... love."

Love is a strong word, and the poised and rational Jill was not the one to use that kind of words often, but she could not find any fitting words besides that.

"Yes..." Elysia nodded. A faint smile was on her face. "But I kinda never showed it to anyone because people don’t really like that show, you know? Something about human being blasphemous to Pokémon’s power…"

"Oh," Jill groaned. "Yes, I can imagine some people saying those kind of things."

The feud between humans and Pokemon already ended thousands of years ago, and since then, they’ve been living in harmony. However, the existence of people wishing for more power and their act of degrading Pokemon as less than living creature perhaps have caused some of the population to be paranoid, and even slight fantasy and imagination has been treated as a blasphemy. Of course, not everyone acts that way, but sadly the one who speaks the loudest has always been those who were not the brightest.

"Right? It’s strange, I say," Elysia giggled. She walked towards the middle of her room and twirled around as she waved the _magical_ wand. She imagined sparkles and beautiful things coming out from the tip of the metal, but of course, there was nothing. She stopped moving, looking down and gloom all of sudden.

"You know, Jill…" the smaller girl muttered, her voice sounded bitter. "I always wish that… magic is real. That I can wish for something and it will happen immediately… But… it’s bad to think like that, isn’t it?

"I mean, sometimes I wish we can have carrot cake for dessert every night, or for me to have perfect brain that can solve math problems in an instant, or for Cecile and Atty to stop fighting… or… to see my father and mother again..."

Elysia felt her vision blurring, and warm trickle of water flowed on her cheek.

"But magic isn’t real, right? Those kind of thing is impossible, right? I mean, there’s no way we can eat carrot cakes, let alone dessert every night, or me being able to solve any math problem quickly… or to have Cecile calm enough to listen to Atty… or… to see people who are already dead, right…? But..."

Jill stared at Elysia and soon approached the shaking girl. She circled her long arms around her, hugging her body while patting her head gently.

Elysia wouldn’t stop sobbing. She tried to speak, her voice hoarse."You know, when that letter arrived, I was confused and I was so glad. I thought… it’s a wonderful thing that my parents is still alive somewhere… I… I finally have a chance to see them again... I decided I want to see my parents if they’re really alive, but what if on the end of my journey, I won’t find anything? I thought magic might be real, but what if it’s like you said? That someone pulled a prank on me to leave this place...?"

Jill kept on patting Elysia’s head and thought for a bit. Elysia had always been a cheerful and kind girl, but she’s a bit naive and clumsy. To be honest, Jill kept worrying whether Elysia can handle herself when she’s out there by herself or not… 

Three months ago, a letter came to the school addressed to Elysia. The letter had no return address, but it was signed by Elysia’s mother. According to Elysia, the way the letter was written is really like her mother’s way and the handwriting also matches with her old letter which Elysia has been keeping all this time. The infamous Nina was cleared out of prank suspicion because both Elysia and Nina claimed that Nina has never seen the letter from Elysia’s mother’s, and the chance for them to be still alive really do exist because Elysia’s parents passed away on their journey and their remains never made it back to Kanto. In short, nobody actually had seen them being dead in the first place, but the news spread fast telling so.

Nonetheless, people have asked, what kind of parents would abandon their child and make them believe they’ve been dead for years? Only to send their child a letter containing a heavy task to be done?

Elysia, being a kind girl, only believed that each people must have a reason to do things that they did, and she decided to follow the letter and find her parents. Nonetheless, any ordinary child would have suspicions and doubts. Even naive Elysia would too.

"You know, Elysia. At least every night we got fruit slices. They’re counted as dessert, too, you know? And you may rarely be able to solve math problems, but you’re always the quickest to see through every side of the other kind of problems. And basically, who cares about math? It’s not like when you work or travel later you’re going to solve algebra. And do you know that other girls have tried to convince Cecile to talk with Atty? And they’re about to do it the day after tomorrow? I think magic do exist, even if… they take on many forms.

"So, hey, don’t lose your magic, Elysia. I think there’s something for you out there. When I read the letter, I think your parents know you’re stuck to this place. They must've want you to leave and learn something more. They… want you to be a trainer… maybe because they want you to learn more magic from the most magical creatures on this planet..."

"You think so?" Elysia asked, her voice still sounded hoarse and choked.  
"If I were your parents, I would’ve think so."

Elysia’s grey eyes wavered, and she buried her head on Jill’s shoulder. Her tears hadn’t ceased.

“Thank you, Jill…"  
"You’re welcome."  
"You should’ve come with me."  
"No. I’ll end up babysitting you."  
"You won’t."  
"You even haven’t left and I’m already comforting you like this."  
"......"

Jill let go of her embrace and looked at Elysia’s face. Her cheeks and nose were reddened and her eyes were swollen.

"Well, now look at you. Do you think the magic will work if you keep that kind of face?"

Elysia shook her head and wiped her tears with her sleeve. She looked at Jill and the look of determination returned to her eyes.

"Now, that’s better!" Jill grinned and she pinched Elysia’s soft cheek.   
"Ow, ow, ow!" Elysia yelped to the pain caused by her friend’s fingers. They both then laughed.

  
"Come, we have to finish packing your stuff so you can sleep earlier. You’ll leave quite early in the morning, won’t you?"  
"Yes. The pick up to Pallet Town will come at eight."  
"Well, no reason to dally now then! Hurry!"

In the end Jill helped with Elysia’s packaging, and she helped moving her boxes into her own room, as Elysia’s room would be emptied and a new girl would probably occupy it. Even so, this boarding school will always be her home, and for the meantime, her belongings would be placed in Jill’s room. There are plenty of empty spaces for Elysia’s stuff. 

After finishing Elysia’s preparation for tomorrow, they took shower and then went to bed together. They slept in Elysia’s room, as it would probably be their last chance to do so.

"You know, it’s kinda sad you won’t go to highschool with all of us," said Jill as she stared to the ceiling.  “But actually I’m feeling really happy for you. I really hope you’ll find your parents, Elysia."  
"I hope so, too..." Elysia nodded. She stared towards the blank ceiling of her room like Jill. However, she soon felt something holding her hand. Elysia turned, she saw Jill smiled gently.

 

"Good night, Elysia. Sweet dreams for you."

The pink haired girl blinked and she smiled back at her best friend. Her fingers then squeezed Jill’s fingers. 

"Good night, Jill..."

The girls continued to stare and smile at each other before they closed their eyes and went to sleep, ignoring the reality of their imminent separation. 

Regardless, they had wonderful dreams that night.

 

### Log 2 : Take Care on Your Journey

The next morning, Elysia was already out by the gate of the school’s complex. She was accompanied by several girls and the headmistress, who was also the matron to the orphaned girls. They were waiting for the pick up from Pallet Town, yet to arrive.

“It is unusual for them to be late,” said the matron. Her eyes covered by glasses squinted to the distance.  
“Nah, it’s okay! It means we still have spare time with our darling Elysia!” A taller girl gave Elysia a noogie. The smaller pink haired girl let out an audible yelping.  
“Vina! Stop messing up with her! You’ll going to hurt her before she even leaves!” another girl scolded the taller girl. The girl called as Vina released her grip from Elysia and shrugged. “Okay, okay. Won’t want our precious little girl here go crazy before things even haven’t started, right?” she grinned and giggled.

Jill went to Elysia and fixed her messed hair, the little girl simply laughed.

“It’s okay, Vina won’t be able to do it for a while, right? She likes to do that to me, I’m fine with it.”

There was a momentary silence, and everyone present looked at Elysia’s, eyes wide.

“Yes?” the girl in question blinked, looking at each of her friends.

“ELYSIAAA!!” The girls except for Jill started burying her in hugs and stared at the headmistress.  
“Ma’am, are you sure you can let this pure girl out by herself in the wild?”  
“We need to keep her protected in here!”  
“I can’t stand the thought of Elysia going by herself!”

“Ehem,” the headmistress cleared her throat. “Calm down, girls. Hold your reins. You’re going to suffocate the poor girl.”  
“Yes, ma’am,” the girls said in unison and pulled back from Elysia. The pink haired girl wobbled slightly before straightening herself. She really was small compared to the others, and their hug attack did make her feel suffocated at times, but she didn’t really hate it. 

“Elysia,” the headmistress turned to her, “You have always been a kind girl, but don’t let yourself be deceived by anyone. I’m sure you know, but your journey is going to be an arduous one. You will be alone, but that’s exactly why you’ll have new companions by your side. You’ll be a trainer, and your Pokemon will be everything you have. Take care of them, Elysia, and I’m sure your journey will be less unbearable.”

The pink haired girl nodded, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you very much.”

The headmistress smiled. “Now, give me a hug, dear,” she opened her arms.

Elysia ran towards the headmistress, who had been like mother to her all these years. They embraced. The headmistress gently pats the little girl’s head.

“Remember, dear, this place will always be your home if you’re looking for it. You’ll always be our family. We’ll miss you so,” she spoke gently. A tone of sadness could be clearly heard within her voice.

Elysia tried her best not to cry again. She had to be strong so everyone wouldn’t worry about her anymore. Yes, after all, she was the one who decided to do this. She was the one who decided to embark on a journey as a Pokemon trainer.

They released their hug. The headmistress wiped a single drop of tear from her cheek.

On the distance, a white car made its way towards the school gates. The girls and the headmistress seemed to notice its presence. 

“Oh, here it comes. Get ready, Elysia.”  
“Yes,” the girl nodded as she held on to her bag. The car soon stopped near them, its window going down, revealing an adult woman inside. She had boyish short hair and wore a brown vest over her plaid patterned shirt. A pair of sunglasses and large earrings added some points of eccentricity to her.

“Good morning, ma’am,” she greeted the headmistress. “Sorry for being tardy. One of the tire went flat in the middle of the way so I had to change it first.”  
“It’s alright, Matilda,” the headmistress replied with grace. “A safer journey is more important.”  
“You’re right, ma’am,” the woman grinned. She then directed her look towards Elysia, easily the one who looked most ready for a journey. “So you’re the one going?” the woman rised her eyebrows. “You ready, girl?”   
“Yes!” Elysia nodded and looked at her with her eyes of determination.  
“Then hop in! I’ll take you to Pallet Town before noon!” the woman gestured for Elysia to come up.

“Alright!” Elysia moved to get up on the passenger seat of the car, but she took a glance back to all of her friends who have been delivering her so far. “I’m going, everyone!” she waved her hands.  
“Bye bye, Elysia! Take care on the way!”  
“Don’t forget to call and write to us!”  
“Always take care of your belongings!”

Her friends waved their hands as they said their parting words. Elysia looked at each of them before her grey eyes met Jill’s blue eyes. The girl didn’t say a thing and only smiled as she waved her hands. Elysia nodded and she finally returned into the car. 

“You’re done?” Matilda asked. “Separation can be quite hard, I know.”  
“It’s okay,” Elysia replied as she put on the seat belt. “I know we’ll meet again one day.”  
“Is that so?” the woman raised her eyebrows, before giggling herself. “Well then, we shall be leaving now.”

Matilda stepped on the gas and began driving away. Elysia turned back to see her friends still waiting for her. She opened the window and stuck her head and hand outside the window and waved to everyone again.

“I’ll see you all again one day!” she shouted as loud as she was able to. In the distance, she could see them waving back.

Elysia then finally went back inside the car and sat down properly. She lay her vision towards outside of the window of the car, before sighing. Her fingers then shuffled into her duffel bag, looking for something. In the end, she managed to pull a plain envelope with only her name written on its cover. 

“What’s that?” Matilda asked as she took a glance from the corner of her eyes. The countryside road surrounded by grasses and trees sprawled as far as the eyes can see, but Elysia’s vision wasn’t on those sceneries at all.

“It’s a letter from my parents,” she replied as she took out the letter from inside the envelope. Her grey eyes soon read each of the words written on it once again.

 

>  
> 
> Dear Elysia,
> 
> How do you do? I couldn’t imagine anything else but surprise and confusion on your face as you read this letter. This letter, after all, was send without any return address and the name of the sender on the envelope. But if you would understand, my dear, I’ll be very relieved. I hope you will be prepared for another surprise. Because you see, my dear Elysia, for years you’ve been living as an orphan and believed that all this time your parents have passed away during their trip overseas. But I want to tell you that we, your mother and father, are still alive. We have our reasons for not telling you about our status and whereabouts all these years, and we sincerely hope you’ll understand. You’ll soon find out why.
> 
> As to the how you’ll find out… Well. If my calculations are correct, my dear Elysia, I believe you have turned fifteen, almost sixteen by the time you received this letter. It is the most fitting time for many young people to embark on their journey as a Pokemon Trainer, and we sincerely hope that you too, will do so. Many young trainers will travel about on one region of their choice, but for you, we’d ask to do more for us. We want you to embark on a journey through many regions. We want you to travel far and to beyond the horizons. With this, I hope that one day, our paths will, no, our paths are going to cross and we may reunite once again as a family.
> 
> I know it might sounds preposterous, and unheard of for supposedly “dead” parents to ask their child to go on a journey through many regions, but I believe you will gain much and learn much more than where you have been right now, and you too will have wonderful encounters all along your journey. A Pokemon Trainer, is a trainer after all, who have Pokemon by their side. Cherish them, and you shall have companions greater than anyone could expect and hope. Albeit, I have one request for you. Each time you move from one region to the other, you have to start anew and must not bring your old Pokemon to your new journey. It will be terribly hard, but I know you can do it. There are perfect reasons as to why you should do that, but… I shall not tell them for now.
> 
> We might or might not meet during each end and beginning of your journey, but I’ll leave fate to do that for us. Nevertheless, I want you to know that we are always watching over you, my dear Elysia. There is nothing more that me and your father want in this world than for us to reunite and to hold you with our own arms, my dear, but alas, we have so many things preventing us to do so. If you embark on your journey and seek us, I believe you’ll eventually know the answer. Thus for now, there is nothing more for me to say besides the wish that you’ll be safe on your journey, and that we love you so so much. You’ll always be our dearest daughter, and our magical girl.
> 
> Love from your Mother,
> 
>  
> 
> Genevieve Laurent
> 
> P.S:
> 
>   * If you don’t know where to go, we’re recommending several regions for you to go. Since you’re in Kanto, it’ll be better if you start from there, then Johto, the nearby region, then Hoenn and Sinnoh which are pretty much still close by to Kanto. After that, you could go to some faraway regions. The choice is in your hands, but we thought you could go to Unova, Kalos, and then Alola. All of them have well established Pokemon League just like the previous four, though Alola might be slightly special and different. It’ll be nice for a change of pace on your journey.
>   * Your father was asking if you still have the magic wand he made for your or not. He really hopes you haven’t lost it.
> 



	2. Ilion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Embarking on her journey, Elysia will encounter her first starter Pokemon.

### Log 1 : Samuel Oak

After roughly one and a half hour of driving through the roads of the countryside, Matilda’s car pulled through and stopped by the edge of a town. Close to it is a huge board mark with the writings of "Pallet Town" on it. 

"So here we are," Matilda turned to Elysia. "As I told you, I couldn’t take you straight to the professor's lab, but this town isn’t very big and you’ll find that place pretty easily. It’s different from the other buildings. You’ll know it.”

“Yes,” Elysia nodded and went down from Matilda's white car, looking around. Matilda soon lowered down her car's window.

“Hey, I wish you all the best to your journey, girl," the woman spoke to her, "I hope you’ll really find what you’re looking for.”

The girl turned her head and bowed, “Thank you, miss! I’ll do my best!”

“Drop that miss thing, would you?” Matilda waved her hand, looking distraught. However, a grin soon returned to her face. “I guess I’ll leave now. Take care, Elysia!” the woman bid her farewell before her car started moving again, driving away through the road, away from the way they came before. Elysia’s been waving her hand until the white car vanished into the horizon. 

Feeling tired eventually, Elysia lowered down her hand and closed her eyes. She took a deep deep breath and then exhaled it as she extended her arms. 

“I guess this is really the beginning of my journey now,” she murmured to herself. “It feels kind of lonely. I should head quickly to the Professor Oak’s lab, then! I wonder where it is…”

Turning her body, Elysia walked down the paved road leading to Pallet Town. Grasses and trees and house with modest designs were within the vision of her eyes. Her grey iris followed through every single corner, every single details, every single sights that were new to her. Despite that, unexpectedly, Pallet Town had similar feelings compared to her school. It felt very tranquil… and fresh. It was to be expected from both places that are located at the corner of a region, maybe.

Elysia met the locals along the way. They greeted her and she nodded and smiled back. She felt really nervous since earlier, but everyone were so kind and hospitable, that soon her uneasiness seemed to have melted somewhere.

In the end, Elysia arrived in front of a building. Truth to be told, she couldn’t really tell the differences between this building and the others design-wise, but a wooden sign in front of the building told her that now, she was standing before Oak’s Lab. The girl sighed. She was really glad that her sense of direction was really working. In fact, her spatial intelligence could be said to be very good, and it was one of the little things she could feel proud of from herself. At least with this, she could be sure that she’ll have very small chance to be lost on her journey later.

Elysia peered through the glass door. Nobody seemed to guard of the building, which Elysia think was odd for such an important place. She wondered if she could press any bell to announce her arrival, but there was none of such thing. Left with no choice, she opened the glass door and walked inside. 

What existed before her eyes now was a spacious room that seemed to take most part of the building. There were various machines and bookshelves placed around the room, with the shelves working as some sort of space divider. The lab room was divided in two with it, half front and half back. The front part seemed to be separated into two parts again, one to her left and one to her right. Some adults who looked like scientists were looking into screens full of difficult looking data and images, and thus seemed to be a bit too preoccupied to notice Elysia’s arrival. She couldn’t blame them. Scientists always look like the busiest people in the world. 

A middle aged man was standing across the room from where Elysia entered, on the half-back side of the room. His face looked serious and he seemed to be reading something… Papers? Letters? Elysia couldn’t be sure. However, what she could be sure about was that amongst all of the people in the room, that man was indeed the infamous Professor Oak. There’s just something about about him that wouldn’t say otherwise.

Before Elysia managed to greet him, the older man noticed Elysia’s presence. 

“Oh, you must be Elysia!” His face brightened up as he turned towards the girl. Hearing that, the other scientists in the lab finally noticed her presence. They turned to her and nodded their head and smiled. The lab suddenly turned brighter and less nerve wracking.

“Oh, oh, yes!” Elysia was startled, but excitement filled her heart as her legs brought her closer the professor in hurry. As soon as she stood close before him, the girl bowed with grace. “I’m Elysia Laurent. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Oak,” she introduced herself politely. It was one of the basic manner lesson in the school.

“Oh, no need to be so formal! I’ve heard about you from Madam Susanne. You have quite a peculiar story there, girl. I’d be delighted to be part of it!” the man laughed. “My name is Samuel Oak, a Pokemon researcher. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Elysia,” he bowed in turn, introducing himself.

“Putting that aside, I do expect young people to be out and become Pokemon trainers. There are so many wonderful things one can learn from their journey as one. As the Pokemon Professor in this region, I’ll be more than glad to assist each of them in their journey, and that includes you.”

Elysia’s face beamed with smile. She thought Professor Oak was more rigid as a person, but he turned out to be nicer than what she had expected. Of course, there was no one in Kanto who didn’t know about the illustrious Samuel Oak, including Elysia. Despite that, Elysia was never one to be so interested in the world of Pokemon training. She thought of Pokemon training as a rough world she could never get in (oh how wrong she was at that time!), and thus never get to know deeper about anything from that side or about a man named Samuel Oak. Now, for a man as well known as him to still introduce himself, it is a sign of politeness and understanding, and such trait was applaudable within Elysia’s mind.

“Thank you, Professor Oak,” she bowed again as a curtsy. The man simply laughed. “Old habits do die hard, huh? As expected from a girl from Rosemary,” he smiled warmly.

“Well, I’ll be glad to give you your starter Pokemon, but I hope you can wait for a moment,” his expression changed to that showing of a hint of apology. “We have another child who’s starting his journey too. I had told him to come, but he is yet to do so,” Professor Oak glanced towards the clock ticking on the wall. The short hand moved past number ten while the long hand was roughly pointing towards nine. “Well, I did tell him to come at eleven, but don’t you think it’s better to come earlier?”

“Yes,” Elysia nodded. Of course she would agree. Tardiness is not very acceptable in her school’s conduct. If something starts at nine, of course you have to be there before nine. When earlier her pick up came late and the Headmistress could accept it just like that, it was a total surprise to Elysia, but she noted the Headmistress was being exceptionally soft today.

“Never mind that, I suppose,” the professor shrugged, then his face quickly brightened up again, “I guess I could tell you some things about Pokemon training? I was one in my youth, and some things haven’t changed through the years.”

Elysia’s eyes lit up. “I’d be delighted to hear it!” she accepted the offer. 

“Well, right, you see..." Professor Oak smiled at the curious girl and began to talk.

### Log 2 : Misbehavior

For the next fifteen minutes, Elysia accepted a quick course about the world of Pokemon training. From Pokemon themselves, Pokemon battling, the gym, the league, and some of the trivial things one usually already knows about. However, being a total newcomer, there were things that Elysia herself had never heard about, and she’s really glad for this quick lesson by Professor Oak.

“Well, any question?” the professor asked.  
“Oh, yeah! It’s…”  
“Gramps!”

The door suddenly opened far behind them, and a boy with spiky orange hair in black shirt stormed in. Elysia stared at him as he approached. He’s roughly the same age as her, or maybe younger. He’s much taller than her, though, so she couldn’t tell, but his behavior tells much about his mentality to Elysia. Being raised in a girl’s school, she always thought of boys her age to be strange creatures, but she also thought that maybe he’s not much different from the hot-headed Cecile or the tomboy Poppy.

“What are you starin’ at?” the boy glared at her. The girl was startled and stumbled back.   
“Kenneth, behave nicely, would you?” scolded the older man sharply. The young man merely shrugged.  
“Whatever you say, gramps. So where is it? The Pokemon? I don’t have time for this all day.”  
“I might consider to not giving it to you if you keep such behavior, young man,” Professor Oak seemed displeased as he said that, but to that, the young boy merely raised his shoulder again.  
“Alright, then. I always want to catch wild Pokemon by myself but you always tell me it’s dangerous out there, and I couldn’t go. And then you always tell people that Pokemon are our friends, so what’s the truth, gramps?”

Elysia glared at him.  _ What an uncouth young man! _ She thought. If he were to go to Elysia’s school, he will be severely punished now. Such attitude to elders was truly unheard of!

“....” Professor Oak merely stayed in silence as he stared at his grandson. Elysia could sense anger and restrain and a bit of sadness from such silence. The tension in the atmosphere felt so heavy that she felt so pitiful for the professor, she wanted to pat him like she used to do to her friends. But of course, it’s impolite to pat someone just like that.

“Fine,” the professor finally spoke. “You’ll get your Pokemon, and you better befriend and treat it wisely and with care.” 

The boy grinned. “Thanks, old man,” he snickered, but it didn’t last very long as Professor Oak continued his sentence, “however, you get to pick yours after this girl pick hers.”

Elysia was surprised, the boy groaned next to her, “What? Why?!”

“Because you still need your lessons learned,” Professor Oak said sharply to him, then he turned to Elysia and smiled. “Well, Elysia, come. You can pick your first partner from these Pokemon here,” Oak walked to his desk and pulled out a small box from midsts of his research papers. He faced towards an empty desk near Elysia and Kenneth and opened the box facing it.

“Come, little ones! It is time for you to shine now!”

Briefly, Elysia could see three Poke Balls inside the box. The Pokeballs opened and three red lights beamed forth. The lights twirled for a bit before gathering and forming on the table, finally materializing into three small creatures. Elysia’s eyes sparkled seeing them.

“Here are the starters of Kanto Region," the professor walked to behind the table, facing towards Elysia and Kenneth, just like the three Pokemon. "They’ve been bred through generations to be given as companion of budding trainers in Kanto. They’re friendly and very versatile to use in battle. However, it is still up to you to give them the support they need to reach their maximum potential."

The professor then gestured his hand towards the green colored Pokemon on the left. "Here is the grass type Pokemon, Bulbasaur," he then moved his hand gesturing the blue turtle like Pokemon in the middle, "This is the water type Pokemon, Squirtle." He then gestured to the last one, a mini dinosaur-like red Pokemon with flaming tail. "And this one is the fire type Pokemon, Charmander."

Professor Oak then smiled at Elysia, "So, which one will you pick?"

Elysia gazed at the professor and then back to each of the starter Pokemon offered before her. To be honest, she has little to no clue regarding their power and capabilities. If looking by appearance, they’re all equally cute to her. She knows some of her friends who would pick based on appearance, while some other would pick based on their abilities (Elysia is sure Jill would fall on the second category). She then glanced towards Kenneth and wondered what he’ll chose. The boy stood next to her looked terribly impatient. However, he didn’t say anything and merely glared back at Elysia. It was enough to crept Elysia and she turned away, deciding to face Professor Oak once again.

"Do you have any recommendations, Professor? Or maybe a brief information about them? I think it would be nice if I can pick something that would suit me best. And they’re equally cute and wonderful, I simply couldn’t choose based on that decision alone," the girl looked at each of the Pokemon and turned back towards Professor Oak.

The old man simply laughed. "You’re a cautious one, aren’t you? I’ll be glad to tell you about them, then!"

Professor Oak then proceeded to tell Elysia about each of the Pokemon's capabilities. What they can do, how they behave, and how they will evolve into stronger Pokemon. Elysia listened patiently with full attention. Sometimes she glanced at Kenneth, who from time to time mumbled about something that she couldn’t quite hear, but Elysia simply understood that he was displeased because of how long Elysia took to pick her starter. She thought to herself. If he was that impatient, he could help his grandfather with the explaining or something? Elysia couldn’t really understand him.

After listening to Professor Oak’s explanation, Elysia still couldn’t make her decision. Bulbasaur was easy to raise and have unique capabilities, Squirtle might be slightly more handful but it has lots of potential. Charmander needs a lot of patience and might be very handful, but it’s also a very great Pokemon later on. All of them were really great. She looked at them once again and finally ended her gaze at Bulbasaur and remembered Professor Oak’s explanation about the bulb on it’s back.

"So the bulb on a Bulbasaur’s back would bloom into a flower, huh? What kind of flower is it?" Elysia asked.

"Hm?” The professor responded. “Well, I’m not quite sure what kind of flower it is. It’s a special flower, after all! It’ll be a very large and beautiful pink flower."

"Pink flower?" Elysia perked up. "I like pink flowers," she gazed fondly at the Bulbasaur all of sudden. The green Pokemon smiled at her and let out a vine from beneath its bulb. It circled its vine around Elysia’s hand before raising it and shook it.

"Hohoho, it looks like this Bulbasaur here also likes you, Elysia!" the professor grinned, seemed pleased looking at this development.

"Really?" Elysia looked at the professor and then back to the Bulbasaur. Its red eyes gazed at her grey's with anticipation. "Well, if you like me too, I’ll choose you, then," Elysia stepped forward closer to the Bulbasaur and pat the Pokemon’s head. “Hello there, my name is Elysia!” she introduced herself cheerfully.

"Finally!” Kenneth groaned and walked quickly behind Elysia, approaching Charmander on the other side of the table. “I’ve been wanting to pick a Charmander since ever. Hey there, buddy!” he patted the Charmander’s head and it squealed with joy. Elysia looked at him.  _ So he can still make someone else happy... _

“Well, that’ll leave you with me, boy,” Professor Oak put his hand on the Squirtle’s head and patted it. “Don’t worry. You could stay with me or wait for another trainer to choose you,” the professor said gently. The Squirtle raised its voice and smiled, as if it had agreed to the Professor’s suggestion.

“Now then,” the professor turned to both Elysia and Kenneth and began to speak again, “with Pokemon by your side, now the two of you can embark on your journey as a Pokemon trainer. If you walk through the wilderness, wild Pokemon may appear. They might attack you or want to go along with you. Regardless of that, you might need to battle them. It is a way to make your Pokemon stronger, too, so don’t be afraid if you encounter them. With Pokemon by your side, you can go anywhere!”

Elysia’s eyes sparkled again and she nodded, “Thank you, Professor Oak!” She looked back at the Bulbasaur once again. They smiled at each other.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot,” Professor Oak spoke as he raised his fingers. “It would be better if you nickname your Pokemon. That way, the two of you would share special bonds. It might also distinguish itself from the others of its kind and inspire confidence and sense of uniqueness it it.” 

“Really?” Elysia looked back at her Bulbasaur. “What kind of name would you like, little one?”

“I’m naming mine Alexander. Cool name, right?” Kenneth spoke right next to her, feeling proud.

“That Charmander is a female, though,” the professor responded as he furrowed his brows to the choice of name given by his grandson.

“Meh, who cares! I’m calling it Alexander or maybe even just Alex! It’s a cool name for a cool Pokemon,” the boy shrugged and he then gazed at the Charmander. “You like it too, right?”

The Charmander squealed in agreement. 

Elysia then looked back at her Bulbasaur. “You might need a cool name, too, or would you like a cute one? I wonder what I should pick for you, hmm…” she began to think. She could pick a name from someone she knows, or from things she had read. Elysia then thought about something she read recently and started murmuring.

“Recently I’ve been reading Moira… It’s about a millionaire who wished to find evidences that the ancient world from the book that his mother gave him exists… The book itself was about twins named Elefseus and Artemisia… They had happy childhood, but a hungry power old colleague of their father named Scorpius came and wrecked their life.. The two of them then was brought to the slave market… [Artemisia were bought by a pair of _hetaera_ , and Elef were bought to be workers building the wall of the city Ilion…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUy-94NO2F4)”

All of sudden the Bulbasaur squealed. It tugged on Elysia’s hand when she said Ilion.

“Huh? You like the name Ilion?” the girl tilted her head. The Bulbasaur nodded excitedly.

“I see. That is the name of an ancient city. If you like it, then I suppose I could call you that!” Elysia smiled. “From now on, I’ll call you Ilion!”

Ilion the Bulbasaur smiled. Somehow, it made Elysia really happy every time she looked at it smiling. It was so soothing and adorable.

“You done naming your Pokemon?” Elysia heard Kenneth asked. She turned her head towards the boy. “Let’s battle, then,” he glanced at her and cracked his fingers.

“Eh?” Elysia was confused.

“You heard me. Let’s battle. Through battle, Pokemon can get stronger, and it’s also going to be proof if you’re good or not. Good Pokemon in the hands of stupid trainer won’t get anywhere.”

Professor Oak sighed. “For Arceus’ sake, how pushy can you be, Kenneth?” He shook his head. “But I guess it would do well for Elysia to learn about Pokemon battling first hand while I’m still here. So, Elysia,” he turned towards the girl, “I think you should accept his challenge.”

Elysia gazed at the professor, blinking for a while, processing the request, before in the end she looked at Ilion. It matters more to it rather than her, right?

“You okay with it?” she patted the Bulbasaur gently as she asked. The green colored Pokemon squealed and nodded. It then faced the Alexander the Charmander with determination in its eyes.

“It’s settled, then,” Professor Oak nodded with satisfaction. “Let’s do it over there, though. Otherwise these Pokemon might make a mess around my work space.”  
“Sure.”  
“Let’s go, Ilion!”

### Log 3 : First Battle

Elysia, Kenneth, and their Pokemon took their position on an open space inside the lab. It was not terribly big like what Elysia would expect a “battlefield” would qualify, but it felt spacious enough that she was sure she wouldn’t need to worry about messing up the professor’s workspace. Professor Oak him stood at the side of the battlefield, right between the two teenagers. The Squirtle climbed on his body and stayed on his broad shoulder, looking full of anticipation.

“Well, as my grandson said, Pokemon battle is a way to make each Pokemon stronger,” Oak began his explanation. “However, their strength wouldn’t be maximized without the trainer who should be able to see and understand their true potential, so Pokemon battle is actually more to the cooperation between both trainer and Pokemon, and a true show to their bond.”

Elysia nodded as she stood facing both Kenneth and his Pokemon. She was slightly nervous, moreso with the boy standing across her grinned confidently. She saw his Charmander standing firm in battle ready stance. Its tail swaying left and right in anticipation.  

“You should watch for your Pokemon’s health and make sure they’re not heavily injured in the battle. It is the trainer’s job too to see a Pokemon’s capability and limit. While they may protect you from dangers, you have to protect them too.”

“Yes,” Elysia nodded. “We can do this, Ilion!” she cheered her Pokemon. The Bulbasaur let out a grunt of agreement.

Oak glanced to both sides and nodded firmly. “Well, If you’ve understood, then let’s begin!” the elder man raised his hand. “On my mark... Three, two, one... Go!”

“Uh,” Elysia stuttered. Earlier she was told about the moves Ilion knows. It could Growl to intimidate their opponent and may lower their attack, or to Tackle them, which of course, would injure them and drain their stamina. Apparently Kenneth’s Charmander was on roughly the same power and skill.

Elysia closed her eyes and focused, “Ilion, Tackle!” 

To that, Kenneth responded, “Alexander, Scratch it with your claw!”

The two Pokemon charged, and they began attacking each other. Ilion bumping viciously to Alexander, and Alexander used its small claws to attack Ilion. Elysia watched closely. So far, her Ilion seemed to move faster than Kenneth’s Alexander. The damage they’ve done to each other was roughly the same, so Elysia might win if she pushes through. 

“Ilion, Tackle again!”  
“Alexander, keep using Scratch!”

And so they exchanged tackles and scratches. Elysia glanced at her opponent. Kenneth stood confidently in his place, and smile never vanished from his face. She watched him tapping his fingers, as if preparing something. Elysia felt uncomfortable. Did he have any tricks hidden beneath his sleeves? Or did he know something that she didn’t? Elysia thought of finishing the battle sooner before he’d do anything dangerous.

“Ilion, Tackle again!” 

The Bulbasaur charged and tackled the Charmander’s body hard until the fire lizard staggered backwards. That moment Kenneth stopped his finger tapping and he grinned. He seemed to caught on something.

“Alexander, charge and scratch from below, flip it away with your claws!”

And just like that, the Charmander nodded. It quickly regained its stance and soon charged forward, moving its claw from right down, swinging upside. It hit the Bulbasaur’s chin and pushing it upward hard, making the green Pokemon’s screeched as its front legs raised from the ground until it became flipped, falling on its back soon after. 

Elysia widened her eyes. 

“Ilion!” she rushed to her Bulbasaur. She took its body and flipped it back. Ilion gazed at her and groaned. A single drop of tear flowed from its eyes. She noticed on the jaw of the Bulbasaur, there were scratch marks left behind, with some kind of mucus flowing out from it. Elysia felt her heart falling and she turned her head to Professor Oak.

“Oh dear, was that a critical hit just now?” the professor shook his head. “Elysia, I think your Bulbasaur is heavily injured and must not be let to fight again. Therefore, the winner of this battle would be Kenneth and his Charmander.”

“Hmph,” the boy sneered. “Am I good or what?”   
“How could you do that?!” Elysia yelled at the boy, clenching her fist as the tone of her voice rose beyond what she normally would.  
“Do what?” The boy sounded annoyed. “Hey, this is totally normal, you know? If you’re going out into the wild and battle, nobody’s going to stop you or being merciful to you in battle. Get real. This is real Pokemon training.”

“But…” Elysia glanced at Ilion. The Pokemon was writhing in pain and it made her heart ached. How could he do this...

“Well, he’s right. Pokemon being injured would be a staple in a Pokemon’s battling life. But through that, they might gain power and experience to be stronger, so don’t you worry,” Oak approached her. “Here, let me take your Ilion for a moment, I should be able to heal him with the machines here.”

“Please, professor,” Elysia handed the Bulbasaur to Professor Oak. He brought it towards a table surrounded by machines and put the Bulbasaur there. In a moment, warm light surrounded it. Elysia gazed at her Pokemon worriedly. The Squirtle climbed the table next to the machine and watched the injured Bulbasaur intently, as if worried too. Perhaps they’ve been good friends before Elysia and Kenneth came.

“If you keep being a wimp like that,” Kenneth sneered at the girl then, “you’ll get nowhere, girl. Hmph... Do you even have what it takes to be a trainer? You should just go home or else you’ll get your Pokemon killed.” He smirked as he gazed at the shorter girl, looking down on her.

“What…!” Elysia tried to say anything, but words couldn’t make it out from her mouth. Was what he’s saying is true? That she doesn’t have what it takes to be a trainer? That she’ll just endanger her Pokemon? Elysia tried to hold back her tears. No, she must not cry. She couldn’t let the words of this mean boy get to her.

“ _ Kenneth _ ,” she could hear Professor Oak’s voice calling the boy’s name sharply. “She is just a beginner and she has never known any Pokemon training. Spare her a bit, wouldn’t you?” he scolded the boy again. Kenneth shrugged.

“If you say so, gramps,” he said with ignorance and then looked at his Charmander again. “Well, I guess I’ll just leave now. I’ll accomplish nothing if I’m staying here.” The boy walked away. “Come, Alex. We’ll do great things from now on. I’m a great person, you can trust me.”

It was said in such a mocking tone that Elysia felt her heart burning. She saw his eyes glancing back at her. “...Unlike some, well, losers.”

A laugh echoed and soon vanished as Kenneth opened the glass door of the lab. “Smell ya later!”

Elysia’s face reddened of anger and sadness. Soon after the door was closed, she couldn’t held her tears anymore and the warm water began to flow on her cheek. 

Professor Oak sighed. He patted Elysia’s shoulder gently.

“Do not mind him, Elysia. He has always been like that. Nothing much I could’ve done. He was sharp and smart, but he was getting over his head because of them. You are going to be a great trainer, Elysia, I know you can do it. Let the recent battle be a lesson to you, so you can be more careful in your journey.”

“Yes,” Elysia sobbed slightly. “Thank you, Professor Oak…”

“Good,” Professor Oak lowered his hand. Soon after, the machine where Ilion was rested let out a “bing!” like sound, and the light from it flashed before it dimmed and went out. The Bulbasaur on the machine appeared to be sleeping all this time, and then it woke up and let out a big yawn. It looked at Elysia with its big red eyes and smiled. The injuries on its body have been healed and vanished as if they were never there, but now there were three line-shaped scars beneath its chin, left behind by the Charmander’s claw.

“Ilion…” Elysia walked to her Pokemon and hugged it. “I’m sorry I let you hurt earlier. I promise to look and watch after you in our journey.”

The Bulbasaur let out a laugh-like cry and sent out its vine, hugging Elysia back. 

Professor Oak smiled with the Squirtle next to him. “Well, all is good, then,” he said as he laughed softly along with the Squirtle. He stepped forward, standing closer to both the newbie trainer and her Pokemon. “Just remember, Elysia. Consider that both of you only have each other. Both Pokemon and trainer should struggle to cooperate and protect each other. By then, both of you would be able to grow as a Pokemon and as a trainer.”

Elysia and Ilion’s eyes blinked. Smiles bloomed on their face as they took the lesson and kept it close to their heart. “Yes, I’ll remember that, Professor Oak,” the girl said with assurance. The older man nodded his head and smiled in satisfaction.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” he raised his tone. “Now go on and start your journey! There are so many things coming to you, and you should not dally here!” the man slapped the girl’s back and she was startled. The girl found herself at lost for a second before she perked up, nodded with resolve. 

“Yes, professor!” she said it full of excitement, bordering shouting. Oak laughed, finding her enthusiasm amusing. Elysia then turned at her Bulbasaur.

“Let’s go, Ilion!” she pumped her fist. The Bulbasaur smiled and jumped down from the table. It then ran towards the glass door of the lab. Surprised that her Pokemon can take such initiative, Elysia quickly followed after it.

“Thank you, Professor Oak!” she turned to look back and waved her hand. The professor did the same.

Elysia opened the glass door so both her and Ilion can leave. The bright sunlight shining from above her head enshrouded both of them in warm light as they stepped out, back into the organic scenery of Pallet Town. She took a deep breath and exhaled it, then she looked at Ilion.

“So, where should we go now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story that Elysia paraphrased for Ilion's name was taken from Sound Horizon's "Shi to Nageki to Kaze no Miyako ~Ilion~" (The Capital of Wind, Death, and Lamentation ~Ilion~). Incidentally, her Kanto team's name will be inspired/taken from story songs.


	3. Pantalea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Ilion by her side, Elysia felt like she'd be able to do anything. Continuing her journey through Viridian and even Pewter, she seek for a new companion for her journey.

### Log 1 : Part with Them

After meeting Ilion, Elysia decided to take it slow and walked along the paved road leading to the next city. She tried to get to know Ilion along the way. She found out that Ilion was born not too long ago. It doesn't really know many things and thus was up for adventure. Elysia in return also told Ilion about the letter from her parents, and how she has to go adventuring through many regions in order to meet them. She hoped she can really go far with Ilion.

To that, Elysia merely thought, _One day if I leave this region, I have to leave all my Pokemon behind... can I really do that? Why should I leave them? It... doesn't make any sense... Why couldn't mom just tell to me...?_

At least if I know why... it'll make it less hard... to part with them...

To be honest, the strangest part of the request from her mother was about leaving her Pokemon behind every time she has to move into a new region. She tried to convince herself that it was for a very good reason, but after meeting and getting to know Ilion, can she really be sure that one day she can let Ilion go?

Elysia tried not to think about that, and just continued walking with her Bulbasaur on the paved road, talking about all other things, including telling Ilion the full story of Moira.

_“Even if slaves are dogs, he will never forget that he has fangs to bare.”_

### Log 2 : Road to Glory

They finally reached Viridian City slightly past 3 PM. Viridian City is actually a familiar place to her as she and the people from the school often visits Viridian City for recreation. She rested with Ilion on a cafe after the whole walking journey and then they went to explore the city a bit. 

When the sky had begun to turn into the yellowish color of sunset, they ended their exploration at the western side of the Viridian City she actually had never explored before. Elysia and Ilion stood right between two kinds of road. The asphalt paved road of the Viridian City, and the brick paved road leading into Route 22. The wide brick paved road glistens in the color of orangish-yellow of sunset, and it extends right from where they stand long to behind a small hill far in front of them.

"You know, Ilion," Elysia turned to Ilion and began to speak, "Professor Oak told me earlier that usually a Pokemon trainer's goal is to beat eight gyms in a region and then head to the Pokemon League, where the strongest trainers of all in that region await. If you defeat them all, you can be a Pokemon Champion…"

Elysia then turned her gaze to the far end of the brick road. "He said, the Pokemon League in Kanto is right beyond this road here."

She could not see what's behind that hill or where's the actual place of the Pokemon League. It still looks far away even though it seems to be quite close from here.

"One day, we'll return here and..." Elysia paused in the middle of her sentence, and merely gazed afar. 

_Earlier I thought about leaving the Pokemon behind if I were to move to another region, but what if I couldn't even make it that far? This road here seemed so big and far away..._

Elysia sighed. She closed her eyes and shook her head then slapped her own cheeks with both of her hands. Ilion next to her was surprised to the sudden slapping sound and then looked at her confusedly. 

_No, I must not think so! I left the dorm not to give up! I'm going to succeed and find my parents!_ Elysia thought so and then she straightened herself. 

"And we're going to do our best from now on, Ilion! So one day we can challenge the league! Are you with me?"

The Bulbasaur nodded and let out its vine to take Elysia's hand. Elysia seemed to noticed what it wants and she raised her hand. They ended high five-ing each other.

"Good!" she laughed and smiled. "Well, now maybe we should check the Pokemon Center, find some food for dinner, and call it a day? Maybe we could reach the next city if we push through, but I guess walking through the forest when it's getting dark isn't very... exciting..."

Ilion let out a cry of agreement. They then turned around and walked away from that route, back into the city.

### Log 3 : Kene

Not long after Elysia's walk back to Viridian, she heard someone calling for her from behind her.

"Hey, you there!" 

Elysia turned to see Kenneth walking fast towards her from the other end of the road. Both Elysia and Ilion looked at each other and then walked back to the brick paved road to approach him. 

"Good day to you, Kenneth," she greeted him when the boy finally came close to her. It actually felt kinda weird to do so since Elysia thought she’ll never see him again.

"Tch. Don't call me Kenneth," he clicked his tongue. "It's stupid."

Elysia tilted her head, confused to the new revelation. "Why?" She asked. She genuinely thought Kenneth sounds nice. A bit too nice for a guy like him.

"Because gramps think it's cool. Period," the boy turned away. The feeling of distaste was clearly shown on his face.

Elysia raised one of her eyebrows. "You don't like him that much?"

"Look, it has nothing to do with you, okay? So--"  
"What should I call you then?"  
"Ugh. Just call me Kene."  
"Kene?" Elysia asked again. That certainly sounds less cooler than Kenneth.

The boy looked at Elysia with clear look of annoyance.

"You're too nosy," he commented. Elysia simply glared at him and puffed her cheek.

"Now you look like an angry Jigglypuff," Kene shook his head. "Now, look, I'm not here to call you names. Hey, do you know where this road leads to?"  
"The Pokemon League, isn't it?"  
"Oh, so you knew."  
"Did you just try to head there?"

"I'm not,” he looked away, but he glanced back at Elysia. The girl and her Pokemon certainly saw that he was coming from that direction. He couldn’t fool her at all. 

“Well, I kinda did but since I don't have any badge I couldn't go through at all…" Kene revealed the truth, seemingly to be very unhappy. "Well, I'll get there in no time,” he turned to face her again. “You see, I'm gonna be the greatest trainer of all time! So I'm gonna tell you now!" He pointed his index finger at Elysia. "Do not stand in my way." 

The pink haired girl simply gazed at the boy and then she nodded.

"I'll be glad to," Elysia gave him a curtsy in mocking manner. 

"Huh," the boy looked down on her. "Is that so."  
"The world seemed to be wide enough for the two of us not to run into each other," Elysia smiled.  
"Really? Fine then," he shrugged. 

Kene seemed to be quite disappointed with Elysia’s reaction, but she tried not to bother with that.

"I guess you will not go that far, then," he then gazed at her. "Have you caught anything besides that Bulbasaur of yours?" 

Elysia turned her gaze to Ilion and then back to Kene. "Nope?"

"See, that’s foolish of you. If you want to be a strong trainer, you have to catch lots of strong Pokemon," he then showed off his Pokeballs. "I got some already."

Elysia maintained her smile as she nodded, "I’m glad for you, then."

Well, it’s not like she doesn’t want to catch any Pokemon, but she kinda doesn’t want to catch just "any" Pokemon. And she just got her Pokeballs when she arrived in Viridian earlier. Certainly no one gave her any Pokeball before she started her journey. Also besides that, she thought Ilion actually was quite strong by itself now. During the way to Viridian, they battled several wild Pokemon and emerged victorious many times.

"Well, then," the boy then grinned. "Let’s battle. I want to show you how strong they are."

Elysia twisted her eyebrows. "I thought you’d rather me to not get into your way."

Kene nodded. "I do. However that doesn’t mean I can’t get into yours, right?"

_Imbecile_ , Elysia thought inside her head. She couldn’t remember when’s the last time she ever use that word. No, in fact, maybe she hasn’t done that before. She remembered she never had any feelings as negative as the one she had for Kene now to anyone else.

"Will you do that, Ilion?" Elysia asked her Bulbasaur. It nodded its head. "Even though he has more Pokemon?" She asked again and Ilion nodded before getting into its battle ready stance.

"Alright, I accept," Elysia faced the boy. He grinned.

### Log 4 : World in Orange

They began the battle on the wide paved road of Route 22. The afternoon sunlight were so bright that it hurts, but the two people merely stood there braving it.

Kene began by sending his newly caught Pokemon, a Pidgey named Todd. The Pidgey landed a critical hit on its first attack to Ilion. Ilion prevailed and then it threw some Leech Seeds to the bird. It’s the new move they had learned while on their journey to Viridian. It absorbed some of the Pidgey’s power and give it to Ilion. Ilion then began to attack it back by holding it with its vine and tackle it. After some tacklings and a potion, Ilion managed to beat the bird.

Kene seemed unpleased and he sent his Charmander, Alexander. Ilion and Alexander faced each other before attacking. Elysia wondered if it had learned new moves or not since Ilion learned Leech Seed earlier. However, it doesn’t seem to learn anything new (or Kene just didn’t ordered the Charmander to use it) as it keeps using scratches and growls to attack Ilion. In the end, with some persistence (and another potion), Ilion won. 

"Great job, Ilion!" Elysia praised the green Pokemon and ran to hug it. Ilion smiled wide and hugged Elysia back with its vines.

"Hmph," the boy snorted. "You just lucked out."

Elysia looked at Kene, and totally expected him to say that she cheated because she’s using potions, but probably he knows that there’s no rule saying they couldn't use items in battle.

"You could also use potions, right?" Elysia straightened herself and asked him, being curious as to why he didn’t heal his Pokemon while in the battle.

"I could. I just didn’t because I’m pitying you," he turned away. Elysia thought that what he had said just now seemed like a bluff, but really, if Kene’s Alexander had been trained and on same level with Ilion now, it must’ve learned something on par with Ilion’s Leech Seed. It probably is a fire type move, which is strong against Ilion. If he didn’t use that while in battle, then he probably is just pitying her. Elysia suddenly felt unhappy to the fact that she might’ve won because Kene was just holding back, but she then looked at Ilion who smiled happily and couldn’t help but to smile too. Kene then walked to her and gave her some cash.

Elysia looked confused.

"You don’t want this?" He asked before sighed. "If you’re battling another trainer and you won, they ought to pay you some money. It’s the manners in Pokemon battling."  
"Oh," she nodded. "Thank you," though hesitant, she accepted it. Somehow Elysia felt weird to the notion that Kene still knows some manners, but indeed, a person couldn't be all good and all bad. 

"You may won this time, but next time I’m not going to hold back against you. I’m going to crush you... Entirely..." the boy glared at Elysia and then he walked pass her by, back into Viridian City.

Elysia gazed at him until he has vanished into the crowd. She then let out a deep sigh and fell down to sit next to her Bulbasaur.

"What a strange person," she shook her head. "What does he want from me? Won’t his life be easier if… he just leaves us alone?" 

Elysia then began to think about similar cases in her school life back then. The closest she could think of was just Cecile and Atty’s case, but in that story, none of the two sided are a jerk. Generally everyone in Rosemary were nice people, though each of them has their own quirks. For Elysia, Kene’s attitude had gone beyond just quirky. He’s an annoying person as a whole.

"Polling," she raised her voice. Ilion turned its gaze at her. 

"Raise your left ha-- legs if you agree if now we go back to Pokemon Center and rest. Raise your right legs if you agree we find dinner and go to Pokecen later to avoid Kene who’s probably there to heal his Pokemon."

In less than one second, Ilion raised its front right leg.

"I think so, too," Elysia nodded and then she turned, smiling at her Bulbasaur. 

"What should we have for dinner now?"

### Log 5 : Pewter City

Elysia and Ilion stayed at Viridian for the night. They went to Pokemon Center and slept at the resting quarters there, located at the above floors. It consisted of several rooms with four sets of bunk beds and lockers in each rooms. The bunk beds are located on the left and right side of the rooms, with two sets on each side. The side across the doors had tables and chairs by the window.

The room Elysia’s staying had no one when she entered it, and for the rest of the night, no one shares the room with her too. She slightly wondered if Kene is sleeping on the other room of if he’s sleeping outside. She saw some home stay ads at the announcement board below.

When she went to sleep that night, Ilion was on the bed with her too. Elysia told it some story she read recently, but then fall asleep on the progress. It’s been a very tiring first day of journey for her.

The next morning, Elysia woke up really early, which maybe is a habit she picked up from the school. She then prepared to leave to continue her journey. At the Pokemon center’s first floor, there’s a corner where they sell some food. Elysia bought a pack of banana milk and a sandwich. She thought of sharing them with Ilion but it doesn’t seem to be interested with human food.

They then left the Pokemon Center at 8 AM and headed straight north towards the forest. There’s a gym in Viridian, but she heard people in PokeCen saying that the gym has been closing for a while. 

Both Elysia and Ilion explored the forest. The morning sunlight streamed through the leaves, making exquisite shadows. Ilion gathered all of those light for photosynthesizing and charging its energy as it walked by Elysia’s side through the grassy road. Viridian Forest was quite a tranquil and beautiful place except it was filled by tons Bug Pokemon and Bug Catcher trainers. While Elysia isn’t a really big fan of them, she was thankful for all experiences they gave to her and Ilion. 

Before noon, they had arrived at Pewter City. It was a very different city from Viridian. Pewter City is mostly gray with stones and bricks, unlike the lush green Viridian full of plants and trees. Elysia remembered visiting here for the school's field trip two years ago. They visited the museum and had to make reports for history class. To be honest, Elysia quite enjoyed it. History always has its mysterious charm to Elysia. 

After healing in the Pokemon Center, they decided to challenge the gym immediately. Ilion had grown stronger from the various battles it went through in Viridian Forest, and they were quite confident it can beat the Rock-type gym of Pewter City.

The gym battles went right as they expected. With Ilion’s newly learned move, Vine Whip, it can now skillfully control its vines to attack its foes. It didn’t take long for Elysia to receive the Boulder Badge from Gym Leader Brock. And as bonus, after the battle, Ilion evolved from Bulbasaur into Ivysaur. Elysia was very ecstatic seeing the bulb on its back had transformed into a pink colored bud.

However, if there’s one more thing she felt amazed for from the whole happenings in Pewter Gym, is that Brock had an amazing Onix.

Elysia had never seen an Onix from up close, and seeing its rocky figure towering over them while also moving swiftly on the battlefield amazed her. She declared to Brock that she’ll catch an Onix one day. The man commented on her good taste. He also told her she has nice eyes, being the color of sturdy rocks. He commended on her tenacity like the strong rocks, and recommended Elysia to challenge Cerulean City’s gym next. After saying her gratitude, Elysia left the gym.

Leaving the gym, Elysia explored Pewter City a bit. She liked it here, but there’s not much to see beside the museum which she had visited before in a school field trip. After having lunch at one of the cafe in the city, Elysia prepared to move on.

### Log 6 : Search for Jigglypuff

Reaching Route 3, Elysia only had one thing in her mind: She wants to catch a Jigglypuff. 

Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff are some of her favorite Pokemon. They are pink, and round, and are just plainly cute to her. A kid she met in the Pokemon Center in Pewter City has a Jigglypuff and he told her he caught it in Route 3, so Elysia really wanted to catch one here.

"Actually," Elysia spoke to Ilion while they’re prowling about on the grasses of Route 3, "I initially want to make a team full of pink colored Pokemon, but I kinda realized they’re pretty scarce, so I’m quite unsure."

Ilion looked at her as it growled in confusion.

"You see, pink is actually my favorite color. It’s the same color like the bud on your back," she pointed towards the Ivysaur's back, "I think it’s a very sweet and charming color. My friend told me it’s because I have pink hair that I might’ve think so, but do you think it’s relevant?" Elysia then played with her hair braid. "Well, I do love my hair, though. It’s from my father..." She turned to see the Ivysaur who seems confused. "Oh, I mean, I inherited it from him. I guess you Pokemon don't really have things like this, yeah? Long hair... or something that makes you similar to your parents... Maybe that's why you couldn't tell when I asked you about your parents..."

The Ivysaur merely turned away and nodded sadly. Elysia smiled and she squatted down, patting it. 

"It's okay. There are more things that can tell you about who you are more than just your parentage... For example, you chose and and I chose you back then, and we're doing this journey now! We'll be partners through our journey. So many wonderful things to come!"

Elysia gazed upward, the sky had begun to change its color to sunset. The shades of purple, orange, and gold filled the sky.

"It still kinda feels unbelievable even now… That I got the chance to find my parents again... with you by my side..."

Ilion gazed at Elysia with its red eyes, then began to tug on her hand with its vine. The girl smiled at the green Pokemon.

"You’re right. Let’s move on."

### Log 7 : Dream and Reality

It was all dark, and Elysia was floating in the middle of such abyss. She saw a tiny light far far away and tried to stretch her hand towards it. However, she couldn’t even see her hands, and it was just nothingness. Anyone would've felt apprehensive towards this fact, but Elysia somehow felt like she was supposed to not reach for that light. She felt something pulling her backward, further from the light. She couldn't turn herself to look at what it is, but she felt... calm... As if she knows what's pulling her down...  
In the end, she closed her eyes and sighed. The wind blowing down here in the abyss feels so cold, and it feels like there are spikes prickling on her all around, and there’s a voice…

"Prr?"

A high pitched purring, somewhere in the darkness, followed by....

"Ow!"

Elysia opened her eyes, finding herself laying down in the middle of the prickly tall grass. The sky had turned into the purplish blue color with hints of orange in the far distance. Twinkles of stars begin to spread all along the shades of night. Elysia hurriedly rose up and turned around, trying to find Ilion. However, what she found right before her is a pink round Pokemon standing between the grasses looking at her with its round blue eyes. 

A Jigglypuff! Elysia gazed at it with the mix of confusion and glee reflected on her face. The Jigglypuff then smiled and laughed.

"Were you waking me up just now…?" Elysia asked the Jigglypuff. The pink Pokemon nodded. "Oh thank goodness!" Elysia sighed in relief, "I wouldn’t know what would happen if I stayed asleep here any longer… Wait, how did I fall asleep here again?"

The Jigglypuff suddenly began fidgeting and turned away from Elysia. The girl gazed at it for a while and remembered something.

"Wait… the singing.. it was you?"

Earlier both Elysia and Ilion were walking down the Route 3, and they encountered some trainers who had been training and battling on that route. They warned Elysia about an area in Route 3 closing to Route 4. They said the area is inhabited by some Jigglypuff who like to practice their singing around there. Generally their songs wouldn’t affect humans, but some particular Jigglypuff seemed to have the ability to even lull humans into sleeping. There are many cases of trainers suddenly losing their consciousness while passing that area. Some lucky ones were rescued by other trainers, while some of the unfortunate ones… became targets of wild Pokemon or worse, Team Rocket. Sometimes the trainers would woke up and find that their belongings are gone along with their Pokemon. 

Elysia then quickly realized something and checked herself. Her bag is still there, her items are still there. Her money is still there, down to every cent, but…

"Ilion!" 

She got up and began running around the tall grasses, searching for her starter Pokemon. She tried to find the figure with the pink bud on its back, or even its green spotted body, or the sound of its cries and laugh, but she couldn’t find any signs of it anywhere.

"Ilion, where are you?!" 

She ran around again, descending the path to the western side of the Route 3 near Pewter City. Elysia found several trainers and she asked for their help to find her Ilion. The trainers agreed and they began looking around Route 3. She then returned to the spot where she fainted and head towards the area north of it. The area was rocky and steep, and she barely managed to reach the Pokemon Center on top of it without running out of her breath. She then ran inside, asking if they’ve seen any Ivysaur and asked for their help to find it.

And... it was not found anywhere. For hours Elysia and many other people searched Ilion to no avail. No one has ever seen any Ivysaur around that area recently, and nobody saw any remains of it if it were to be hunted by wild Pokemon. It’s as if the Ivysaur had vanished into nothingness...

When the night had grown much deeper, they all finally stopped searching. Elysia was rested in the Pokemon Center by Mount Moon. She is soaking wet with sweats from running all around and looked extremely tired. She was sobbing and was comforted by several trainers, including Gym Leader Brock who had heard about the Ivysaur’s disappearance and volunteered to help searching around Pewter City. Like anyone else, his search ended up with nothing.

"I’m sorry about your loss," he said as he clenched his fist. "I wish I could’ve done more."

Elysia couldn’t reply anything and stayed silent. She had no more energy left to say anything, or to be mad about all of it. She only wondered where is Ilion right now and what it’s doing. 

"It’s getting late, you should get some rest now. If anything else, I’ll ask the night patrol around Pewter and Route 3 to look around for you," Brock squatted before Elysia and gazed at her worriedly. The girl only stared at him and finally mustered her whole energy to say, "Thank you, Brock."

The man seemed relieved. "Well then, I do hope we can find your Pokemon soon. For now, please rest and take it easy..." he then stood up again and turned to several trainers including the Pokemon Center’s staffs who have been assisting Elysia in her search.

"I’ll take my leave for now. I leave her in your care," he said to all of them and bowed, before leaving the Pokemon Center. 

Elysia looked down. Several female trainers that have stayed with her since earlier comforted her. They told Elysia she should change her clothes and eat something and go to sleep. Elysia agreed and then she went to clean herself. 

Later that night Elysia slept in a room in the resting quarters of the Pokemon Center. She shared her room with the female trainers. Due to tiredness she felt really sleepy, but her mind couldn’t stop thinking about Ilion. She closed her eyes so she maybe could drift away anytime, but somehow she’s still feeling at lost.

After a while, the female trainers entered the room. They apparently had just taken showers. 

"Is she asleep?" One of the trainers asked and approached to check on Elysia. The pink haired girl pretended to fall asleep as she felt the girl’s hand gently patting her head. Apparently they then convinced she already did.

"Poor girl," one of them said in low voice. "Losing her starter Pokemon… nothing could be worse than it…”  
"I heard she only started journeying yesterday. It’s really terrible."  
"Really?! I couldn’t imagine how hard it must’ve been..."  
"She couldn’t stop crying earlier. I felt so bad for her..."  
"Ugh, it must’ve been those good for nothing Team Rocket! They must’ve been the one who stole the Ivysaur!"  
"Sssh, lower down your voice. But yeah, I think it’s Team Rocket too. They often mugged people and Pokemon who lost their consciousness on Route 3, right? Maybe they took it while she’s out of it."  
"If that’s the case, then it’s terribly bad. I heard Team Rocket often stole a Pokemon only to sell it in Black markets or something…"  
"Yeah, and especially the rare starter Pokemon often…"

Elysia had been listening to their conversation… Team Rocket… of course she knows about them. They’re literally on every kind of news. People who stole other people’s Pokemon only to be sold or used illegally for bad purposes. While she was living within the walls of the Rosemary, she only thought of them as some kind of scary people she would never get involved with…

Oh how wrong she was back then.

Elysia blinked and closed her eyes again. A tear went rolling down from her eyes as she went to sleep.

### Log 8 : Pantalea

The next morning, Elysia was already up and having her breakfast at the cafe area of the Pokemon Center. She ate cereals with banana milk which felt really tasteless. Even, the crazy sweet fruits cereal taste like nothing but flour crumbs.

She wondered what she should do now without Ilion. She thought of chasing Team Rocket members (some people said they’re often spotted around Mount Moon) but she literally had no Pokemon. Should she ask to be given another starter? But there’s no Pokemon that could replace her Ilion…

"Excuse me, miss," a Pokemon Center staff came to her.  
"Yes?" she turned at them, hoping for news which says that Ilion has been found, but she decided to only keep it at the corner of her mind.

"You see, since last night, I noticed a Jigglypuff seemed wanting to enter the Pokemon Center. Initially I let it be out there, but it waited all night in front of the door. And… earlier when it sees you, it seemed to want to get in and meet you… If I may ask… is that your Pokemon, miss?"

Elysia looked at the staff and then turned her gaze towards the glass door of the Pokemon Center. She noticed a round pink Pokemon with big round blue eyes is peeking and staring at her. 

At the corner of her mind, Elysia thought that the disappearance of her Ilion was mainly caused by the Jigglypuff who sang without thinking of the consequences they might cause to any people or Pokemon that passes that area. She had never felt so angry in her life towards the Jigglypuff, but she then realized that they actually maybe do not know about their capabilities, and never intended to make anyone faint… and Elysia remembered that yesterday, the one who woke her up were that Jigglypuff… It maybe felt bad. It maybe wanted to apologize to Elysia.

She closed her eyes and then looked at the Pokemon Center’s staff. 

"No. Not yet," she replied. "If it’s alright, please let it in."  
"Oh, sure. Thank you for your confirmation, miss," the staff bowed and they walked towards the door. They opened the door and let the Jigglypuff in. The pink round Pokemon looked around, seemed unsure, but then it saw Elysia and then ran towards her direction. It then jumped and landed on the table where Elysia was having her breakfast. The Jigglypuff gazed at Elysia and looked like as if it wants to say something, but held itself back. Elysia finally stretched her hands and pat the Jigglypuff.

"It’s alright, I know why you’re here," she said and the Jigglypuff’s eyes lighten up. 

"You’re thinking that it’s your fault that Ilion disappeared… Is that right?"

The Jigglypuff nodded sadly.

"I… don’t think it’s your fault. You were only doing what you have always been doing. Some bad people were using your power to do bad things. They’re the one who’s at fault here."

Elysia looked forlorn, but she stared at the Jigglypuff again. Ah, really, Jigglypuff are so so cute. How can anyone get mad at these Pokemon?

"You know,” Elysia kept patting the creature’s head, and then played with its hair tuft, “I have lost my one and only Pokemon, and now I am left with nothing else to accompany me… If you want to… Do you want to come with me? We could go to many places, and maybe along the way, we could train your singing voice so it’ll be much more better and won’t make any humans fall asleep again."

The Jigglypuff perked listening at Elysia’s proposal. It then nodded its head quickly.

"That was fast," Elysia laughed. "Well then," she took out a Pokeball from her bag. "To make it official, you have to get into here at least once."

The Jigglypuff nodded and then it touched the Pokeball in Elysia’s hand. The red and white colored ball opened and the round Pokemon went into it as red light of energy. The ball then shook three times on Elysia’s palm before stopping. The girl smiled and then she threw it slightly. The Pokeball opened and the Jigglypuff comes out again, landing on the table.

"Now, I should probably give you a nickname," Elysia gazed at the Jigglypuff. "What kind of name would you like?"

The Jigglypuff stared at her with anticipation. She thought a little. "Last time I told Ilion a story, and it just picked its name from the word it likes. Maybe we could do that with you too?" The Jigglypuff thinks for a bit and then nodded.

Elysia tried to think up of a story. She has read so many kinds of stories in the past, and she just have to pick one for now... But in the end, a visage of Ilion appeared on her mind and she began to remember something.

"[Once upon a time, there was a flower known as Pantalea](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtSPbaprkpQ)," she began her story. "In an ancient kingdom’s language, Pantalea means ‘the one and only miracle’. In the rare times when both day and night’s length are exactly the same, Pantalea would bloom forth, and it will release a great power where it could restore the glory of ancient past and gave birth to new lives. However, to do so, Pantalea must be given food, energy, so it will be able to do its magic. A pair of one winged butterflies will feed Pantalea with the memories of ancient past. They are known as Azareema and Azareeda..."

Elysia continued to tell the story and the Jigglypuff simply sat and listened to her intently, like children being told about their bedtime stories. 

In the end, Elysia finished story and gazed to the Jigglypuff. 

"Nothing that suits you for now, huh?" Elysia laughed. "Well, I do have many more stories..."

The Jigglypuff shook its head. It then moved to the middle of the table and gestured its body. It tried to push both of its hands to the middle of its body and then moved them from bottom and then upwards before spreading them. Elysia gazed at it, feeling flabbergasted. 

"Is that... flower blooming...? You… want to be called as Pantalea?"

The Jigglypuff nodded with a wide smile on its face.

"Well then, who would’ve guessed," Elysia sat back as she smiled and laughed, "I’ll call you Pantalea from now on!"

Pantalea the Jigglypuff smiled. It then moved and jumped forward to hug Elysia. The girl smiled and hugged it back.

"Thank you, Pantalea," she said, "We’ll go to many places together..."

She closed her eyes and a single drop of tear falls.

_Ilion..._


End file.
